


Finding Home

by eternal_lights



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: F/M, Getting Together, M/M, Multi, Not Canon Compliant with the last scene of S2, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 20:17:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17250719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternal_lights/pseuds/eternal_lights
Summary: Falling for Daniel was natural, easy. And Peggy. Well. If loving Daniel felt a little like warmth, loving Peggy was like starting a fire. A little spark, and then all at once, a feeling that shot through him, nonexistent one moment and all engulfing the next. Either way, he was powerless.





	Finding Home

            Daniel came back to New York, back to busy streets and endless honking, back to his desk, back to the same bickering agents and watery coffee.

Back to Peggy. Back to Jack.

            Jack won’t admit it to anyone, much less himself, but the morning Daniel Sousa came back to the office, the familiar sound of his crutch tapping against the floor accompanied by a brief chorus of ‘welcome back’s’, Jack felt his heart jump to his throat, his body thrumming with tension and nerves and, he loathed to admit it, with want. He had thought that part of him was long dead and buried. But as he watched Daniel cross the room towards his office door, he wondered just how long he was fooling himself.

            While Daniel crossed the last few feet, Jack took a breath and forced a façade back on, his lips pressed in a thin line, eyes steady, unwavering. He strolled over to the door before Daniel could knock and twisted the doorknob with one hand, the other shoved into his pocket, fingers scratching at the fabric inside.

“Agent Sousa,” he said, his lips twisting into an effortless smirk, “Welcome back. LA not treating you right?”

            Daniel chuckled, leaning forward onto his crutch. He was closer now, and Jack had to remind himself to breathe normally when Daniel glanced up at him.

            “Missed New York too much, I suppose.”

            There was something in his eyes as he said it, an intensity Jack could still feel even when he turned to grab a folder from his desk. He handed it to Daniel before shoving both hands into his pockets.

            “No slacking off,” he raised an eyebrow, “Even if it is your first day.”

            “Not a problem, Chief.”

            There was the tiniest, almost imperceptible hint of bitterness in Daniel’s tone, his voice catching a little at the end of his sentence. Jack regarded the man in front of him for a moment, before taking a step forward to lean nonchalantly on the open door. He stared past Daniel’s profile to the wall as he spoke, his voice low and quiet.

            “Why’d you come back, Sousa? Why be ‘Agent’ again?” 

            Daniel shrugged and looked at him. They stood in silence, Jack resolutely not meeting the other’s gaze. The intensity was back, and Jack wasn’t sure he was ready to face it.

            There was a faint rhythmic clicking sound, one that had become all too familiar. As it got louder, Jack turned his head and Peggy Carter glided into view over Daniel’s shoulder. She gave a small nod in greeting to Jack, and there was a slight smile on her face as she caught sight of Daniel. She stood by her desk, waiting, and pretended to flip through some files.

            “Because of Carter?” Jack murmured lowly, his eyes still trained on her, “You come back because of her?”

            Daniel straightened beside him, and Jack finally met his eyes. They were dark and searching, for what Jack didn’t know. He forced his face to stay neutral, his jaw tight.

            “I better get to work,” Daniel said, avoiding the question entirely.

            Jack didn’t push. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.

            He watched as Daniel paused beside Peggy on his way to his desk, the latter abandoning her act entirely and dropping the files, her lips parting into a smile.

            “Morning, Peggy,” Daniel tilted his head towards her.

            “Good morning, Daniel. Welcome back,” she said, her voice warm.

            Jack shut the door after that, cutting off their following soft exchange, and returned to his desk.

 

            Jack didn’t remember when he started falling for Daniel Sousa. He supposed it was always there, from the second they met, a little grain of something planted inside him that grew and grew, slowly but persistently, a lingering tendril weaved into his very being that was soon indistinguishable from everything else that made him.

            Daniel was a fighter, of that he had no doubt, and a noble soldier. He was everything Jack wanted himself to be: a man of loyalty, of honour. Daniel Sousa wasn’t a hard man to love.

            It was later in the evening now, the sun having set some time ago. Jack looked up from his work, and found only Peggy and Daniel left in the office. It had been a rather uneventful day, the three of them now quietly working on paperwork next to silent telephones.

            He stretched his arms above his head, peering through the glass at the pair. As he watched, Peggy stood up and crossed the floor. She stopped next to Daniel, who lifted his head to look at her, and said something so quietly that Jack couldn’t catch even a syllable despite the stillness of the office. Whatever Daniel said in response made her smile, and she placed her hand on his shoulder.

            Jack hardly twitched. Peggy didn’t just put her hands on people, not unless she was punching the daylights out of them or tackling them to the ground. There was an attraction between the two he suspected existed even before LA and was even more sure of now. Something had happened before Daniel came back, and the thought did awful things to his heart.

            Falling for Daniel was natural, easy. And Peggy. Well. If loving Daniel felt a little like warmth, loving Peggy was like starting a fire. A little spark, and then all at once, a feeling that shot through him, nonexistent one moment and all engulfing the next. Either way, he was powerless.

            Sending Peggy to LA had felt like a stab in the gut. He’d lost both of them, and they had gained each other. At least this way he had somewhat of a chance to be rid of his feelings, although their empty desks served as a reminder as he walked in every morning. He thought he had done a good job of stomping his emotions into the dust, but clearly that wasn’t the case, not with the way his stomach twisted at the thought of the two of them together.

Together, without him.

When he was alone, safe in the darkness of his own home, he’d entertained the thought of the three of them. It was merely a fantasy, but he couldn’t help yearning for it anyway, even if he knew he’d only be interfering. Where exactly did he fit in that relationship? They were the ones who belonged together. On those nights, he drank himself to sleep, trying to find comfort at the bottom of a bottle, but only succeeding in torturing himself by conjuring up a momentary feeling of warmth, along with a fleeting image of deep brown eyes and red lips.

His curiosity, along with his misery, grew every minute. They were still conversing quietly, her hand still on his shoulder. Jack stood up and opened his door.

“Sousa, Carter,” he called, receiving some eyebrow quirks in response, “Come talk to me.”

They shared a look and, suspiciously, a small smile, before following him into his office. Jack leaned back on his desk, hands gripping the edge, as they lowered themselves into chairs and waited expectantly. Daniel clasped his hands together.

“Chief?”

The words spilled out before he could stop them.

“Are you two together?”

They hung in the silence between them. Daniel slouched further into his chair and stared up at him.

“What’s it to you?” he asked.

Jack scoffed and examined his nails, trying to feign nonchalance.

“It’s a simple question, Sousa. Just curious, nothing wrong with that,” he cocked an eyebrow in challenge.

He leaned forward. At this point, what more did he have to lose?

“So?” he asked again, his voice low.

He locked eyes with Peggy. The latter was watching him, in an almost unnerving way. Her eyes were piercing and roamed over his face. There was a hint of a smirk on her lips. Jack clenched his jaw, trying not to crack. There was an inexplicable rise of panic in his stomach. For once, he didn’t know what to do.

“Yes,” Daniel said, finally.

            Jack couldn’t explain the inner turmoil he experienced at that one word. His voice had abandoned him. He must have been silent for too long, because Daniel shuffled to his feet and grabbed his crutch.

            “Well. If all you had to talk to us about was our love life, we’ll just be getting back to work.”

            But he didn’t leave. Instead, he stood in front of Jack, watching his face, like he was expecting something. Peggy stayed in her seat, observing him as well.

            Daniel was right there, barely two steps away, and they were alone in the office. Jack wanted so badly to push him out and kiss him at the same time, the need, the want burned him inside. His eyes met Daniel’s and the latter must have seen something, because he took a step forward, their legs bumping.

            Jack took a breath, and it came out more like a shudder. As he watched, Daniel carefully lifted a hand and rested it on his thigh. He didn’t shove him away, despite Peggy being right there, and Daniel pressed down a little harder. Everywhere they touched, he burned. His knuckles were white from gripping the table, keeping himself from launching himself at Daniel. Peggy didn’t budge, still watching, almost unnervingly. Jack’s mind was reeling and he couldn’t quite comprehend the situation.

            “Chief Thompson,” Daniel said softly, “Tell me what you want.”

            Jack squeezed his eyes shut, his lips falling open, the words on the tip of his tongue, held back only the sheer force of his will. He couldn’t think, not with Daniel so close to him. He wanted this, so badly. But Peggy. They were together, weren’t they?

            “Jack.”

            Jack lifted his head, opening his eyes. Daniel squeezed his thigh gently, almost as if he was asking permission.

            “But Peggy,” he whispered.

            “It’s fine, Jack. Trust me.” Another squeeze. “Tell me.”

            He was so, so close. Jack could see every strand of his hair, slightly ruffled after a day’s work, could see the soft edges of his lips, pink and parted, his breath fanning lightly over his neck as he breathed. And his eyes, wide and earnest and surprisingly wanting, with not a single hint of malice. From here, he could almost fool himself into thinking maybe Daniel wanted this too. Any barrier that was holding him back instantly broke.

            “Just kiss me, Sousa,” he said, the words coming out almost like a plea.

            Daniel sharply inhaled, the hold on Jack’s thigh tightening before he surged forward, Jack meeting him halfway almost desperately. It was sloppy, because all of Jack’s diminishing control flew out the window the minute their lips met. He grasped Daniel’s shoulders, trying to pull him closer. There was a low rumble, a ghost of a laugh from Daniel as they broke apart for a second, just long enough for Daniel to drop his crutch and grip the other’s hips for balance instead. Daniel was more successful in bringing them closer together, and Jack groaned into the kiss as Daniel nudged his legs further apart and slotted himself into the space. Jack could feel the other’s body completely pressed against him, his heartbeat, his warmth not even a hair width’s away.

            Jack gasped, breaking away as Daniel squeezed his hips bruisingly hard and ground his own forward. He closed his eyes with a moan when Daniel brushed his lips against his jaw and nipped his way down the side of his neck.

            “Sousa,” he said, his voice breathy, “Daniel.”

            There was a hum. It was almost too much, the feeling of Daniel against him. It felt too right, like they were meant to fit together. And yet, he couldn’t quite disregard the other presence in the room. His eyes met Peggy’s over Daniel’s slouched form, and it felt like he’d been doused with cold water.

            “Peggy,” he said almost brokenly, “Daniel…”

            Daniel came back to his lips, cutting off whatever Jack was going to say. One hand lifted off his hip to instead come up to cup the back of his neck, fingers softly stroking over his skin. As impossible as it felt to do, his trembling hands let go of Daniel’s shoulders and pushed at his chest instead, nudging him away.

             They stared at each other, both breathing hard. Jack had never felt so raw, so vulnerable. His heart felt like it had been ripped out of his chest. For a moment, he’d held what he so desperately wanted in his arms. But Daniel wasn’t his. He was Peggy’s.

            Suddenly, she was by his side, hesitantly touching his arm. He turned his head and watched her eyes widen just a fraction at the look in his eyes. She’d told him he was a good man. How could he do this to her?

            “Peggy,” he croaked, “I’m so sorry.”

            “Oh, Jack,” she whispered, “It’s alright.”

            He shook his head.

            “No, it’s not. Peggy, I… I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have kissed him.”

            To his surprise, Peggy only inched closer, this time taking his hand. He almost jerked away, but she held on.

            “I’m so sorry,” he said again, closing his eyes.

            He just wanted to go home, and be alone. He wished he never asked if they were together, he wished he never knew how soft Daniel’s lips felt against his, he wished he never knew how warm Peggy’s hand felt enveloping his.

            “Jack,” she said.

            He didn’t answer. He heard her exhale, and then, unexpectedly, felt her lips touch his cheek, so gently he was sure she didn’t even leave a trace of lipstick. His eyes flew open, breath caught in his throat. She was watching him, her eyes soft.

            “Why?” he choked out when he managed to find his voice again.

            Her gaze flicked away. Jack twisted to find Daniel, propped up against his desk having caught himself after being shoved away. Peggy and Daniel shared a meaningful look. Peggy reached out and took Daniel’s hand. Jack couldn’t tear his eyes away.

            “We love each other, Jack,” Peggy said.

            His chest ached. He wanted to keel over, to fold himself over what he was sure was his heart splintering.

            “What kind of sick game are you playing here then?” he forced out, “Why are you doing this?”

            “It’s not a game,” Peggy said, “Jack, we…”

            She shared another look with Daniel, and the two of them came even closer.

            “We want you too,” Daniel finished for her, “I, we, have feelings for you.”

            He was stunned into silence. All those nights he’d spent convincing himself that it’d never happen, so much so that at the present moment he couldn’t quite allow himself to believe it.

            “Jack Thompson,” Peggy said, “Come home with us.”

            “Only if it’s what you want,” Daniel added.

            Jack could feel hysteria rising. There they were, the two people he wanted more than anybody else, barely an arm’s reach away, and they were asking him to come home with them. If this was some kind of fever dream, he never wanted to wake up.

            “Yes. Yes, I want to.”

            Both of them broke out into smiles, and Jack laughed, unbelieving. Peggy pulled his hand, bringing him closer to her, and kissed him properly. Her lipstick felt slightly tacky against his mouth and he swiped his tongue across her bottom lip, making her gasp. He pulled away, a little part of him still not convinced that she wasn’t going to slap him. But she just beamed at him.

            There was a tap on his leg, and he faced Daniel on his other side. Jack was the one to lean in this time, dropping a short, sweet kiss on his lips.

            A few months ago, he had stood alone in his office, certain that he’d lost both of them. But now, they’d found his way back to him, or maybe he to them. Either way, he couldn’t be more content.


End file.
